Dr. Peter Lewis
Dr. Peter Lewis’ research interests are product and process failures, structural integrity, polymer and composites analysis. He chairs the courses Design and Manufacture in Polymers (T838) and Forensic Engineering (T839) and co-authored Engineering the Future (T173). Among his published works are Structural Materials and Chambers Dictionary of Materials Technology.
He has contributed three articles to the Open2.net What The Industrial Revolution Did for Us site, on bridges, lighting and rubber.
Working with iron and steel
Related programme
Victorian Bridges and Buildings
The era of modern bridge building really starts in 1779 with the construction of the Ironbridge at Coalbrookdale in Shropshire (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Ironbridge at Coalbrookdale
What makes this bridge so important is the material used and the way it was designed. It was made of cast iron from a blast furnace, and designed in large pieces which could be fitted together and hoisted into position relatively easily. The joints in the structure are similar to those used in woodwork, using wedges, chocks and dovetails to give firm connections (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Wedges, chocks and dovetails give strong connections
Some parts of the bridge cracked shortly after construction since cast iron is very brittle when bent, and the ground upon which it was built shifted. Repairs fixed the problem, and the bridge survives to this day (with some reinforcement). The concept is successful because the material is in compression, exploiting the greatest strength of the iron. The same principle had been used since at least Roman times in stone bridges. The design was imitated elsewhere with some success, both in Britain and abroad, and cast iron was also used widely in the early Victorian period in buildings. It culminated in the world famous Crystal Palace, where cast iron columns support wrought iron beams which in turn support wooden floors. However, it is remembered for the glazing which forms the exterior roof cladding (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Building the Crystal Palace using system methods
What cannot be so easily appreciated is the way it was built in the remarkably short time of 3 months, to meet the deadline for the opening of the 1851 Exhibition. The building was the largest in the world, and was disassembled shortly after the Exhibition ended and reconstructed in Sydenham. It is an example of system building, using pre-fabricated standard parts which were fitted together on site using methods more akin to a factory than a building site. It epitomises the Industrial Revolution both as a building made using methods of mass manufacture, and for the multifarious contents shown at the Exhibition.
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